Commercial and industrial video displays used in advertising and promotion, also referred to as digital signage, may comprise one or more individual display terminals or a cluster of displays operating as a video wall. Many displays include a PC or dedicated video player, while “smart” displays eliminate the PC by incorporating the player functionality directly into a single display chip. Smart displays thus require only a power connection, one or more data connections such as an internet connection (e.g., LAN/WIFI), and smart software such as Signagelive™ scheduling software for uploading, scheduling, and displaying content. Digital content may be displayed full screen or using any number of multi-zone templates.
The Flat Display Mounting Interface (FDMI), also known as the VESA Mounting Interface Standard (MIS) or simply as VESA mount, is a family of standards defined by the video electronics standards association (VESA) for mounting displays. VESA defines both a close-to-the-wall mounting configuration, and a spaced-apart mounting configuration which allows the coaxial and/or HDMI cables to extend orthogonally rearward, while providing sufficient clearance for the cords to bend 90 degrees and routed away from the device parallel to the wall. In addition, presently known video wall mounting configurations allow an individual display to be pulled away from the wall while remaining parallel to the wall for maintenance purposes.
Presently known wall mounted digital signs require manually inserting power and data connectors either into the back or a side edge of the display and/or associated player (e.g., PC), and routing the associated wiring so that it is out of view. This is cumbersome and in many jurisdictions may require a licensed electrician for installation and service. State of the art video walls, such as those available from Ventuz™ (See, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=609pISLdBgI) require extensive cable connections from power sources and servers to the displays. Consequently, replacing a component in a single display in a video wall often requires the entire wall to be off-line for many hours.
Presently known digital signage installation and maintenance is thus cumbersome, labor intensive, aesthetically challenging, and susceptible to physical and electronic intrusion (hacking).
Moreover, scheduling and otherwise coordinating the distribution and display of content and deployment of maintenance personnel is currently ad hoc.
Improved digital signage mounting and operational architectures are thus needed which overcome the foregoing limitations.